Motor-frame attachment for vehicles.



No. 655,670. Patented Aug. 7, I900.

L. E. BROOKES.

MOTOR FRAME ATTACHMENT FUR VEHICLES. (Appliation filed Apr. 11, 1898.Renewnd m. 15, 1899.)

(N0 Model.)

llNi'iED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD ELLIOTT BROOKES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE". HALF TOSIDNEY M. WEIR, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

MOTOR- FRAME ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 5,670, dated August'7', 1900.

Application filed April11,1898. Renewed December 15, 1899. Serial No.740,472. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD ELLIOTT BROOKES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in anAttachable Motor Frame and Mechanism for Carriages, of which thefollowingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a frame to be attached tocarriages or vehicles of various kinds, yet it is more especiallyintended to be used 011 motor-vehicles and for the purpose of supportinga motor-driven mechanism and equalizing-gear; and it consists in certainpeculiarities of the construction, novel arrangement, and operation ofthe various parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forthand specifically claimed.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide a frame which shallbe simple and inexpensive in construction, strong and durable, and maybe readily attached to a vehicle of the ordinary or any preferredconstruction, and, second,"such a frame which by reason of the peculiarconstruction and novel arrangement of its parts will permit of the freemovement of the forward truck of the vehicle, or, in other words, willafford a swivel connection therefor, thus allowing it to have a verticalas well as a lateral angular movement, the front of the frame acting asa fulcrum-point.

Another object of my invention is to equalize the movement of the wheelsof the vehicle when turning corners.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description hereinaftercontained.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionpertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it,referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a planview of a motor-vehicle with my frame attached thereto. Fig. 2 is asectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, looking in the directionindicated by the arrows. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken online 3 3 of Fig. 1, showing the driving-shaft in elevation andillustrating the gears and clutches therefor mounted thereon. Fig. 4 isa view in elevation of the equalizinggears; and Fig. 5 is a sectionalView taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 2, illustrating the manner of connectingthe front part of the frame to the forward truck of the vehicle.

Similar letters refer to like parts througlr out the different views ofthe drawings.

A and A represent, respectively, the forward and rear axles of thecarriage, which are provided, as usual, with traction wheels a and ct ofthe ordinary or any preferred construction, except that the rear wheelsare preferably provided on their adjacent surfaces with sprocket-wheelsa which may be secured to the spokes, as shown, but in some instances Imay employ instead of said sprocket-wheels gears to mesh with pinions onthe equalizing-shafts.

Secured to the middle of the front axle A and extending thereabove is apiece B, which is provided with a vertical socket b to receive a pin 19,which has at its upper end a plate 11 by means of which it is secured tothe lower surface of the bolster C, on which the fifth-wheel C rests.The upper portion 'of the socket-piece B is reduced and has fittedtherearound a collar B, having a rearward extension 12 provided withahead 6 to which the block or casting E is secured by means of a stud eand nut e. The block or casting E is provided with an opening a for thepurpose of adjusting the nut on said stud and has an arm 6 extendingrearwardly' into the front end of the frame E, to which it is secured bymeans of rivets or otherwise. The frame E is preferably made of metal,usually channel or I shaped in cross-section, and is constructed so thatits front portion will be composed of two rails or beams lying paralleland in juxtaposition with one another, whileits rear portion comprises arectangular figure which rests on and is suitably secured to the rearaxle A of the vehicle. Extending from the rear portion of the frame tothe front of the rectangular part thereof are brace-beams A which mayalso be made of channel or I iron and are for strengthening the frame aswell as supporting the motor and other mechanism.

Mounted on the rear part of the frame is a motor Z of the ordinary orany preferred con= struction, on the front end of the driving shaft Z ofwhich is located abeveled gearf, which meshes with similar gears f and floosely mounted on the shaft F, which is journaled in suitable bearingson the braces A of the frame. The gears f andf each have a sleeve f andf respectively, on the outer ends of which are friction-disks f andf,respectively,to engage the friction-clutches g and g, which arerotatably secured on the shaft F by means of keys 9 Between the gears fand f and keyed to the shaft F is a gear F, which meshes with the gearG, located between the beveled gears H and H, which are mounted on theinner ends of the equalizing-shafts H and H which shafts are suitablyjournaled on the frame and have at their outer ends sprocket-wheels hfor. the sprocket-chains h, which engage the larger sprocket-wheels a onthe rear tractionwheels. The gear G is provided with openings 7L2 forthe reception and operation of the beveled gears'h and h, which arejournaled on suitable shafts 71 having their hearings on the gear G, andwhich gears mesh with the gears H and H, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1of the drawings.

Pivotally secured to the clutches g and g are levers i and t, which areunited at their outer ends by means of a tie-rod i and are fulcru med onsuitable brackets i secured to the frame. Extending from the lever z"outwardly is an arm i, to which is secured a rod i which is connected tothe lower end of a hand-lever I, suitably fulcrumed and extendingupwardly. Around the pin 1) and between the plate I) thereon and thecollar 13 is a spring 6 whose lower end rests on a washer b on saidcollar.

From the foregoing and by reference to the drawings it will be seen andreadily understood that when the driving-shaft Z of the motor is rotatedit will, through the engagement of the gearfwith the gearsf and f one ofwhich may be rotatably secured with the shaft F by means of one of theclutches, impart motion to the shaft F and through the gears F, G, H, H,7?, and h drive the shaft H and H and through their gearing (which maybe sprocket chains and wheels, as shown, or ordinary gears) will drivethe wheels of the vehicle. WVhen it is desired to stop or reverse themotion of the carriage, the clutches g and g may be moved by means ofthe hand-lever I and its connections with said clutches, so as to causeboth of them to be disengaged or one of them to engage one of thefriction-disks and the other one to be freed therefrom.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with the frame, of a socket-piece mounted on thefront truck of the vehicle, a collar swiveled on said socketpiece, aswivel connection uniting the collar and the front of the frame, a pinlocated in said socket and having at its upper end a plate, and a springlocated between said plate and the upper end of the socket-piece,substantially as described.

2. The combination with the attachable frame, of a motor transverselymounted on the rear part thereof and having a drivingshaft provided witha beveled gear on its forward end, beveled gears engaging said gear andloosely mounted on a shaft transversely journaled on the frame, afriction-disk secured to each of said gears, friction-clutches mountedon the transverse shaft, levers to move said clutches, a gear mounted onthe transverse shaft between the beveled gears thereon, and anequalizing-gear geared to the wheels of the vehicle and engaging thelastnamed gear, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the attachable frame, of a motor transverselymounted on the rear part thereof and having a drivingshaft provided witha beveled gearon its forward end, beveled gears engaging said gear andloosely mounted on a shaft transversely journaled on the frame, afriction-disk secured to each of said gears, friction-clutches mountedon the transverse shaft, levers to move said clutches, a gear mounted onthe transverse shaft between the beveled gears thereon, the shafts H andH transversely journaled on the frame and geared at their outer ends tothe traction-wheels, a beveled gear mounted on the inner end of each ofsaid shafts, a cogged gear journaled between said beveled gears andengaging the gear between. the other beveled gears and havingopeningstherein, beveled gears j ournaled in said openings and engagingthe gears on the shafts H and H substantially as described.

LEONARD ELLIOTT BROOKES.

Witnesses:

CHAS. O. TILLMAN, E. A. DUGGAN.

